Anthropogenic biomes data sets describe potential natural vegetation, biomes, as transformed by sustained human population density and land use including agriculture and urbanization. Anthropogenic biome categories (Anthromes) are defined by population density and land-use intensity. The data consists of 19 anthrome classes in six broad categories. Data available through NASA's Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).

(Top Row: Right)

Image Credit: NASA SEDAC

Spatial Distribution for Net Primary Productivity - Africa

The Global Patterns in Net Primary Productivity (NPP) portion of the HANPP Collection maps the net amount of solar energy converted to plant organic matter through photosynthesis. NPP is measured in units of elemental carbon and represents the primary food energy source for the world's ecosystems. Data available through SEDAC.

Lake Natron, Tanzania is located in Africa’s Great Rift Valley. The highly alkaline lake mineral is fed by mineral rich hot springs and impacted by volcanic ash from the Great Rift Valley. Because of the unique biodiversity, Tanzania named the Lake Natron Basin to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance on 4 July 2001. This simulated natural color Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer (ASTER) image was acquired on March 8, 2003. Data available through LP DAAC.

(2nd Row: Middle)

Image Credit: Arizona Department of Water Resources

Subsidence in the McMullen Valley Groundwater Basin, Arizona

The colored bands in this synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferogram show the gradual sinking of land (subsidence) in Arizona’s McMullen Valley Groundwater Basin between April 2010 and May 2015. The colored bands in this interferogram show the gradual sinking of land (subsidence) in Arizona’s McMullen Valley Groundwater Basin between April 2010 and May 2015. The McMullen Basin is an agricultural area located about 100 miles (161 km) west of Phoenix, AZ, and covers almost 650 square miles (about 1,684 square km). In the interferogram above, subsidence is indicated where the color sequence goes blue, red, yellow, green, blue, etc. (or any combination, but going through the colors in this order). Uplift is indicated where the color sequence goes blue, green, yellow, red, blue, etc. (or any combination, but going through the colors in this order). SAR data are available through the NASA's Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) DAAC. Find out more information about the McMullen image.

These data represent fractional land use and land cover patterns annually for the years 1900 and 2100 for the globe at 0.5-degree (~50-km) spatial resolution. Land use categories of cropland, pasture, primary land, secondary (recovering) land, and urban land, and underlying annual land-use transitions, are included. Annual data on age and biomass density of secondary land, as well as annual wood harvest, are included for each grid cell. Historical land cover data for the years 1500–2005 are based on HYDE 3.1 and future land cover projections for the period 2006–2100 came from four Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) scenarios which reach different levels of radiative forcing by year 2100: MESSAGE (8.5 W/m2), AIM (6 W/m2), GCAM (4.5 W/m2), and IMAGE (2.6 W/m2). These data are available at NASA's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) DAAC.

(3rd Row: Middle and Right)

Image Credit: LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response.

Flooding in Arkansas and Oklahoma - May 2015

May 2015 brought record to near-record rainfall in much of the deep southern United States. This caused flooding and evacuations in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. This false-color MODIS Aqua satellite image, acquired on May 26, 2015 shows the Arkansas River as it runs through Oklahoma and Arkansas. On May 26, the river reached 33.39 feet (10.18 meters) at the Van Buren gauge near Fort Smith. Flood stage at that area is 22 feet; above 31 feet is considered a major flood.

Agricultural practices have developed as a function of topography, soil type, crop type, annual rainfall, and tradition. In this montage of six ASTER sub-images, the differences are graphically illustrated by the variation in field geometry and size. In Minnesota (upper left) the very regular grid pattern reflects early 19th century surveying; the size of the fields is a function of mechanization and that dictates a certain efficiency. In Kansas (upper middle), center pivot irrigation is responsible for the field pattern. In northwest Germany (upper right), the small size and random pattern of fields is a leftover from the Middle Ages. Near Santa Cruz, Bolivia (lower left), the pie or radial patterned fields are part of a settlement scheme; at the center of each unit is a small community. Outside of Bangkok, Thailand (lower middle), rice paddies fed by an extensive network of canals that is hundreds of years old, appear as small skinny rectangular fields. And in the Cerrado in southern Brazil (lower right), cheap cost of land and its flatness have resulted in enormous farms and large field sizes. Each ASTER sub-image covers an area of 10.5 x 12 km. ASTER data are available through LP DAAC.